Hill blog post here.

Here is an AP report (via Stars and Stripes) on the charges served today on SSGT Bales for the shooting deaths of 17 Afghan civilians and attempted murder of 6 others.  NYT coverage here.  Will try to update with a copy of the charge sheet when it is available.

[Update]  USFOR-A press release here.

Here’s a link to a front page article from today’s San Diego Union-Tribune.

First, don’t prejudge the government or defense case.  We don’t know what the accused said or did leading up to or after the events and we have no idea what defenses the accused will put forward, though as Bloomberg notes (here) it already looks like diminished capacity is the route they will take.  At the end of this long process, and it will be a long process if the MAJ Hasan, SGT Akbar, or other recent capital cases are any good as yardsticks for this case, we’ll need to reassess our initial thoughts on mental health defenses and other intial impressions based on all the facts.

Second, while the SOFA between the US and Afghanistan does not allow Afghan prosecution, that doesn’t mean the US could not release SSGT Bales to the Afghans for trial.  As we discussed, here, the US is always free to turn over servicemembers to a host nation regardless of the preference in a SOFA.  And, potentially, keep the accused in US custody during the host nation trial–as the former US-Iraq SOFA anticipated under certain circumstances.  I think in this case the real calculus is the same one as in most in theater crimes, good order and discipline.  The US military has a huge G.O. and D. interest in prosecuting this case to deter war crimes.  That, probably more than the rules of any SOFA, made the forum an easy choice in this case.

Third, if there is any in theater case that may end in a plea agreement this is the case.  As much as our Afghan partners may want to see a trial and swift execution, this may not be the case if the mental health issues play out in the direction they currently seem to be heading.  This will be an interesting test of the Army’s screening system for TBI and mental health issues. 

And, finally, what this case will not feature, thankfully, are the two issues that have plagued the military justice system for the last decade, questions of racial disprity and competence of counsel.  See the late Prof. David Baldus’ study, Racial Discrimination In The Administration Of The Death Penalty: The Experience Of The United States Armed Forces (1984–2005), 101 Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 1227 (2012), and any of the death penalty reversals in the last decade, e.g. United States v.Kreutzer, 61 M.J. 293 (C.A.A.F. 2005)).

Stay tuned for a potential NIMJ event about the case and MilJus process. [Updated para. 1]

With charges expected any day against SSGT Robert Bales in the shooting deaths of 16 Afghan civilians, various news outlets are focusing on military justice. NIMJ’s own Gene Fidell is quoted in the NYT here.

Additional coverage of his attorney’s comments from Bloomberg (via SF Chron here) and the AP (via Seattle Times here).

From Yahoo News, here:

The U.S. soldier suspected in the killing of 16 Afghans in a shooting rampage last week was being flown from Kuwait to the military’s maximum security prison in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas Friday, as more details emerged about his state of mind when the massacre occurred.

The transfer of the chief suspect in the March 12 shooting rampage came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai slammed the United States Friday for its handling of the case, saying he was “at the end of his rope,” the Associated Press reported. The Afghan leader, meeting with relatives of those killed in southern Afghanistan Friday, also alleged that more U.S. soldiers may have been involved in the massacre.

H/t AmaG

Here is USAToday coverage of the Afghan shooting spree of an as yet unidentified US soldier.  According to USAToday the soldier is in confinement and the military magistrate found that there was sufficient evidence to continue to hold him at his 48-hour hearing-not exactly shocking considering reports that the soldier confessed to the entire incident. 

Here is a link to WaPo coverage of President Obama’s remarks today about the Afghan civilian killings, allegedly committed by a US soldier.  Here is the video of his remarks in the Rose Garden today (courtesy of ABCNews.com):

Shootings in Afghanistan

The big news obviously is the shooting spree in Afghanistan.  Here is “local” coverage from the Tacoma News-Tribune (the soldier is reportedly attached to the 3d Stryker Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  According to various reports, SecDef Panetta commented on the shootings stating, 

“My understanding is that in these instances that could be a consideration,” Panetta said, referring to the death penalty as he flew aboard an Air Force jet to Kyrgyzstan for meetings with officials there.

. . . .

Panetta indicated that the soldier turned himself in and told superiors what had happened, raising the possibility that he may have confessed.

“He went out in the morning, early morning, and went to these homes and fired on these families and then at some point after that came back to the forward operations base and basically turned himself in, told individuals what had happened,” Panetta said.

Pressed on whether the soldier confessed, Panetta said, “ I suspect that was the case.”

This excerpt via the LA Times, here.  According to an AP report (via TIME here), there is some additional biographical info on the suspect now available.  According to reports the shooter was an Army sniper:

The suspect in the shootings began his first deployment to Afghanistan in December, according to a senior U.S. official. However, he had only been assigned to the base in Panjwai about six weeks ago, the congressional source said.

He is from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and was assigned to support a special operations unit of either Green Berets or Navy SEALs engaged in a village stability operation, said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still ongoing. Special operations troops pair with local residents chosen by village elders to become essentially a sanctioned, armed neighborhood watch.

Stars and Stripes has this report on the mood at JBLM, where the soldiers seem to be a little on edge with all there going through.  S&S really captures the pulse of the soldiers in the story.

More Recommendations in PVT Chen Cases

In other news an Army Investigating Officer recommended general court-martial for SSGT Blaine Dugas on four dereliction of duty specifications, see AP (via WaPo here).  The charges stem from the alleged hazing of Army PVT Danny Chen and his eventual suicide. 

Lackland Instructor Abuse Case

An Air Force training instructor (yes, they do no call them drill sergeant’s, thankfully) has asked to move his trial because he doesn;t think he can get a fair panel at Lackland Air Force base.  The San Antonio Express reports, here, that Air Force SSgt. Luis Walker is charged with multiple counts of rape, forcible sodomy, and aggravated sexual assault, among other charges, in the alleged abuse of at least ten female trainees. 

PFC Manning Tortured (?) Says UN Special Rapporteur

I’m a defense hack and all, but I just can’t comment on this one because my mom told me . . . I will only say, doesn’t a UN Special Rapporteur have better things to do? From the Guardian and the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment report,  here (at 74):

The Special Rapporteur concludes that imposing seriously punitive conditions of detention on someone who has not been found guilty of any crime is a violation of his right to physical and psychological integrity as well as of his presumption of innocence. The Special Rapporteur again renews his request for a private and unmonitored meeting with Mr. Manning to assess his conditions of detention.

And the SR’s statement here.  That is all.

Post authored by Henry Castillo, NIMJ Law Student Intern

Army Announces Court Martial Date in Chinese-American Hazing Case

The Army has announced that Sgt. Travis Carden of Fowler, Ind., will go on trial on April 4in a U.S. military court in Afghanistan on charges including hazing, maltreatment and assault.   Carden and seven others are charged in the October death of 19-yr-old Pvt. Chen, a Chinese-American. The case against the other seven are pending.   WaPo story can be found here.

Bradley Manning Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Bradley Manning, the former US Army soldier accused of leaking sensitive documents to Wiki[shhh], began the process of formal court-martial last Thursday. Now it is being reported that he is among the 231 people up for a Nobel Peace Prize this year.   Find the full story here.

Army Investigating “flat-out abuse” in Kosovo

Seventeen commissioned and noncommissioned officers in Kosovo have been suspended amid an Army investigation into allegations they employed harsh training tactics to initiate soldiers.  Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling declined to describe the details of the allegations citing the Army’s ongoing investigation. Hertling said the soldiers could face a range of punishments.  No Man Note:  And my favorite quote from a senior officer this year, ““It was all about not respecting soldiers, using the wrong kinds of training methods, frat house kinds of jackassery, and just poor leadership.”   Army Times full story can be found here.  

U.S. Prosecutors Allegedly Prepare Secret Charges Against Julian Assange

According to an email obtained by hackers U.S. prosecutors have prepared secret charges against Wiki[shhh] founder Julian Assange.  Find the full story here.

Aftermath of Quran Burning Still Developing

First, the Department of Defense issued new “Quran Distribution Guidance” memo. The memo states that Qurans will only distributed to US service members who are Muslim, as indicated on their dog tags.  Story can be found here.  Also, resulting from the Quran burning incident is it being reported that NATO has agreed to have soldiers who burned copies of the Quran face trial.   The story is still developing and can be found here.

Here is a link to SCOTUSBlog’s preview of the Stolen Valor Act argument today at SCOTUS, noted below by Zee in TWIMJ.

AP reports here (via the Provo Daily Herald), that the hazing related court-martial of LCpl. Carlos Orozco, III, began yesterday in Kaneohe Bay:

A trial begins this week for a third Marine accused of hazing a lance corporal who later committed suicide at their base in Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Carlos Orozco III is accused of putting his foot on the back of Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, ordering him to do push-ups, and pouring sand in Lew’s face.

Orozco has been charged with assault, humiliating Lew, and cruelty and maltreatment.

Still no referral of charges after an IO recommended court-martial in the other hazing related case out of Afghanistan, this one related to the suicide of Army PVT Danny Chen.  Local report here.

Former Navy SEAL gets Other-Than-Honorable discharge in anticipation of civilian charges of arms smuggling of AK-47s from Afghanistan.  See report from UPI here and our prior coverage of SO1 Bickle’s case here and here.

MarCorps Times reports, here, that Pvt. Frank Wuterich was discharged today with a General (Under Honorable Conditions) discharge.   The story states:

The Marine Corps has discharged the lone Marine convicted in the 2005 killings of unarmed Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Pvt. Frank Wuterich ended his service Friday, Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel said.

Wuterich’s attorney, Neal Puckett, said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Corps gave him a general discharge under honorable conditions.

So ends the long and tragic story that was Haditha–and our speculation (here) about what the Marine Corps would do with a 10+ year veteran Private.

H/t GGH

The NYT reports, here, that separate Investigating Officers recommended charges against an Army lieutenant and sergeant in the hazing related suicide of PVT Danny Chen in Afghanistan.

[1stLT Daniel] Schwartz,the only officer among the defendants,is charged with dereliction of duty. Sergeant Carden faces charges of assault and other crimes. An investigating officer recommended that [SGT Travis] Carden also be charged with reckless endangerment,the military said on Wednesday. Our prior coverage iof the investigation that led to involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide charges against other soldiers is here and here.

 The First Lady and Mrs. Biden are taking aim against licensing restrictions that prevent military spouses from taking jobs as they follow their active duty spouses around the globe, see White House blog here. They hope to allow portability of licenses for spouses in fields such as teachers, nurses, real estate brokers, and other professionals.  Mrs. No Man would have appreciated that effort when I was on active duty.

Yahoo news reports, here, this stunning development in accused COLE bomber Abd al Rahim al Nashiri’s military commission hearing.  His counsel’s request to depose the President of Yemen has been denied. I’d like to give a blog shout out to LCDR Steve Reyes for creativity of that one.

From Sri Lanka, I just liked the name of this commission:

A Court of Inquiry, appointed by Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya to inquire into the observations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in its report on alleged civilian casualties during the final phase of the humanitarian operations and a probe as regards Channel-4 video footage irrespective of its authenticity or otherwise, are now in full progress.

The BBC reports the investigation is related to civilian casualties during the government’s fight with the Tamil Tigers.

Here is a link to WaPo coverage of the military commission charges against “Majid Khan, a Pakistani citizen and a former legal resident of the United States.”

[Khan] is accused of conspiring with Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, to conduct a series of follow-up operations in the United States. These included targeting underground gasoline storage tanks, according to the military.

Khan, a graduate of a suburban Baltimore high school near where his parents ran a gas station, is also accused of donning a suicide vest and planning to assassinate former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf.

Now I am all for prosecuting bad guys, but what is our national interest in prosecuting someone for the attempted assassination of another county’s president, presumably in that country?

This from the Florida panhandle:

The phrase “Initial Success or Total Failure” has long served as the unofficial motto of explosive ordnance disposal technicians in the U.S. military.

Until recently, the slogan hung on a wall at the Naval EOD o at Eglin. It was removed after senior EOD leaders decided the words were insensitive.

“It holds some potential insensitivity and implies that our fallen and wounded EOD warriors have somehow failed,” said Joy Samsel, deputy public affairs officer at Naval Education and Training Command in Pensacola. “We don’t want to do that to families.”

I am guessing a certain court that only holds sessions on the departure of Code 45 personnel will similarly be disbanded by like-minded leaders.

A USMC tank driver got a little love from a convening authority today. WSJ reports here that the Marine commander in SW Afghanistan has dropped charges of negligent homicide in a 2011 friendly fire incident.  Sgt. Jason R. Byrd, had been “charged with negligent homicide and other offenses stemming from the friendly-fire death of Lance Cpl. Benjamin Schmidt on Oct. 6.”

Unlikely pairing over at CNN, here, of NBA sensation Jeremy Lin and the courts-martial related to the suicide and alleged hazing of Private Danny Chen and Corporal Harry Lew in Afghanistan.

Then on Thursday, a U.S. Marine sergeant was found not guilty of hazing Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, who committed suicide last April in Afghanistan. A Marine Corps report revealed that Lew had been beaten by his superiors with sand poured in his mouth for falling asleep while on duty. Another Marine was sentenced to 30 days in jail and demoted; a third faces court-martial over the death. Lew’s case along with that of Pvt. Danny Chen, who was found dead in October from an apparent suicide, have spurred Asian American members of Congress to demand hearings on hazing in the military.

Chen, the only Chinese American soldier in his unit in Afghanistan, was called “gook,” “chink” and “dragon lady,” forced to crawl on gravel while fellow troops threw rocks at him, and made to shout instructions in Chinese to fellow troops (no one else in his unit spoke Chinese). The Asian American civil rights group OCA has met with Pentagon officials to demand better treatment of Asians in the military.

Anyone know the inside baseball on the recent rash of Army declared deserters from cases that are years old?  See the stories of Private Louie Castro, here, and Pvt. Lamar Lawshe, here and here.  Lawshe’s attorney, friend o’ CAAFlog Scott Bielicki, tells us Lawshe was discharged and charges against him dropped–though not until after an 8 week delay for an Art. 32 hearing that the defense had waived its right to.

The Bowling Green Daily News reports, here, that SGT Brent Burke’s court-martial is now set for May 2, 2012 in the death of his wife and former mother-in-law in 2007.  Burke had faced two civilian trials for the same charges.  Prior coverage here and here.

In Ugandan MilJus news, here, certain segments of the bar are calling for prosecution of service-members accused of torture in civilian courts rather than courts-martial.